Effects of technical progress on performance and application of supercritical carbon dioxide power cycle: A review

Highlights: • The different applications of S-CO₂ power cycle are investigated. • The mathematical models for main components of S-CO₂ power cycle are listed. • The performance analysis and dynamic control strategy of S-CO₂ power cycle are presented. • The design and analysis of heat exchanger and turbo-machinery for S-CO₂ power cycle are discussed. -- Abstract: Supercritical carbon dioxide cycle has been considered as a promising power cycle for various types of power conversion systems owing to the high thermal efficiency, smaller components and compact footprint. This paper presents an extensive overview of the state of the art of S-CO₂ power cycles, including the performance analysis and dynamic control strategy, the design and analysis of heat exchangers and turbo-machineries, the different applications of S-CO₂ power cycle in nuclear industries, solar energy, coal-fired power plant, fuel cell and other waste heat recovery. The various configurations of supercritical carbon dioxide cycle are categorized as single flow, split flow and combined cycle layouts. Mathematical models for each component in supercritical carbon dioxide cycle are discussed in detail. The conclusions and challenges for the promising power cycle are presented in this paper. This review will be useful for further progress of applications of the supercritical carbon cycle in energy industry.